Shocking New IRS Targeting of Christians Uncovered – 26,000 Pages of IRS Documents About the "Word of God," 50,000 About "Prayer"
Just as Newsweek broke the story that the FBI is targeting MAGA supporters of Donald Trump as the 2024 presidential election nears, we unearthed bombshell revelations in our FOIA lawsuit showing that the Biden IRS is also targeting Christians.
President Biden and Christopher Wray have a history of targeting conservatives and Christians, which the ACLJ recently proved in another FOIA lawsuit against the Deep State FBI.
Now exclusive reporting from Newsweek has revealed:
The federal government believes that the threat of violence and major civil disturbances around the 2024 U.S. presidential election is so great that it has quietly created a new category of extremists that it seeks to track and counter: Donald Trump's army of MAGA followers.
The challenge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the primary federal agency charged with law enforcement, is to pursue and prevent what it calls domestic terrorism without direct reference to political parties or affiliations—even though the vast majority of its current “anti-government” investigations are of Trump supporters, according to classified data obtained by Newsweek.
According to Newsweek, the FBI also is seeking to prevent the “furtherance of political and/or social agendas.” In other words, we know why the FBI has been going after pro-life advocates since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Such a report by Newsweek is unsurprising because of the Biden Administration’s past transgressions of targeting political opposition. The ACLJ knows firsthand about the Deep State’s tactics after the IRS Tea Party targeting and, more recently, from the FOIA lawsuit we filed against the IRS after we found out the IRS was now targeting Christian groups, refusing to grant them tax-exempt status.
A Christian organization, Christians Engaged, was initially refused tax-exempt status. The IRS letter explaining the rationale for refusing Christians Engaged their tax-exempt status included a bizarre legend where “D” equaled “Republican.” “M” equaled the “Word of God” and discussed how their faith was one of the reasons they were denied.
We knew this was unlawful targeting and likely went far beyond one letter, so we filed a FOIA request, demanding all IRS documents related to this targeting of Christians based on the legend of religious terms. We specifically asked for documents related to “Word of God,” “Bible,” “Christian,” “Prayer,” etc.The Biden IRS refused to comply, so we filed a lawsuit.
We stated in our lawsuit that the Biden Administration had doubled down on its targeting, refusing to comply with our FOIA that demanded the IRS turn over these documents to us. We won’t allow the Administration to get away with ignoring our legal demands.
The IRS has stalled, complaining that it has too many potentially responsive documents to turn over. Through litigation, we now know the IRS has 345,000 pages of documents related to targeting Christians. But the list of the terms involved and the sheer volume of documents are shocking. Regarding the term Word of God, the IRS has 26,000 pages of documents, and regarding Prayer, the IRS has over 50,000 pages of documents!
See the list below from our litigation:
Why in the world does the IRS have 26,000 pages of documents related to the “Word of God?” We have caught the IRS red-handed in its unlawful targeting of Christian groups. We aren’t buying the IRS’s complaints about the volume of documents, so we are going back to court to ensure we receive all the needed documents.
All Christians should be outraged to know that their federal government violated religious liberty in such an egregious fashion. Of course, we have found further instances of targeting by the Biden Administration.
Earlier this year, the FBI was caught targeting “radical traditionalist” Christians and was even accused of planting undercover agents in churches to keep tabs on what congregations were learning. The FBI whistleblower whom we are representing, Garret O’Boyle, was instructed to target pro-life advocates after the Dobbs decision.
Such violations of religious liberty must not go unchecked. Religious liberty is one of the cornerstones of America, and the ACLJ will never relent in defending this sacred right.
To help protect religious liberty, join our ACLJ Champion program. Our Champions are monthly donors who support our mission to defend faith and freedom in the U.S. and abroad. Sign up here.
Today’s Sekulow broadcast also featured former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, who shared his disgust with the latest report of FBI targeting. Also, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard gave her perspective on the shocking news that President Biden is constructing a border wall.
Watch the full broadcast below: